Button-forming device

ABSTRACT

Device for forming buttons from a pin-on back plate, a front plate, and a cover over the front plate, with the device having a pair of button-forming dies alternately shiftable into operative alignment with a forming punch which on descent into the successively aligned dies cooperates with the latter to assemble the separate button parts into a button, and a blanking punch and die set above the forming punch, of which the blanking punch is raised into cooperation with the blanking die for blanking a cover from a supply sheet, and a handlever operatively connected with the punches for simultaneously lowering the forming punch and raising the blanking punch.

United States Patent Spruegel 51 May 16,1972

[ 54] BUTTON-F ORMIN G DEVICE [72] Inventor: Walter Spruegel, New Haven, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Jacob J. Alpert, Woodbridge, Conn.

[22] Filed: Jan. 4, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 103,747

2,814,220 1 1/1957 Spendel et al. ..79/5

Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Att0rneyWalter Spruegel ABSTRACT Device for forming buttons from a pin-on back plate, a front plate, and a cover over the front plate, with the device having a pair of button-forming dies alternately shiftable into operative alignment with a forming punch which on descent into the successively aligned dies cooperates with the latter to assemble the separate button parts into a button, and a blanking punch and die set above the forming punch, of which the blanking punch is raised into cooperation with the blanking die for blanking a cover from a supply sheet, and a handlever operatively connected with the punches for simultaneously lowering the forming punch and raising the blanking punch.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BUTTON-FORMING DEVICE This invention relates to button-making devices in general, and to devices for making pin-on buttons in particular.

Pin-on buttons of the type with which the present invention is concerned have a pin-on back plate, a front plate and a cover over the front plate, of which marginal portions of the plates are crimped into interlock with each other, and the cover is held snug on the front plate by being with a marginal portion thereof locked between the intercrimped margins of the plates. The back and front plates are customarily stamped from light-gauge metal sheet, and the cover is of paper or like sheet material which on its exposed face is marked with a printed legend or a pictorial illustration such as a photograph, for example, or both, so that these buttons may be worn during conventions, political campaigns, or as badges, for example. There are known relatively simple and manually operable devices for assembling the back and front plates and the cover into pin-on buttons, with these devices commonly providing a pair of forming dies and cooperating depressible forming punches, and one of these devices providing a single depressible forming punch and a pair of forming dies all incorporated in a self-contained unit for alternate cooperation of the punch with each one of the dies in button assembling. These devices lend themselves to assembling buttons for all different purposes, and to this end there is customarily available a longlasting supply of back and front plates which are the same for all buttons. However, demands for different quantities of buttons for different purposes, and often-times a one-time demand only for a particular button, as well as demands from time to time for buttons with new markings on their covers, compels button makers to stamp particularly marked covers as and when they are needed for a required quantity of particular buttons to-be-assembled in these devices. To stamp these marked covers from a supply sheet or sheets, recourse is commonly had to a hand blanking punch which is disassociated from the button-assembly devices, and which an operator wields in laborious and tiresome manner in order to stamp each cover from a supply sheet, with the operator usually staying with the task of thus blanking all covers which are required for subsequent assembly of buttons of a given quantity in order to have available an adequate supply of covers when subsequently assembling the buttons in an assembly device at the relatively high efficiency which is afforded by the latter. Blanking the covers is thus a bottleneck in the making of buttons despite their assembly in the more or less efficient button-assembly devices.

To overcome this bottleneck in the making of buttons, there has been developed a self-contained button-forming unit which combines the prior button-assembly device of the aforementioned single forming punch and pair of forming dies, with a cover-blanking punch and die set. This button-forming unit, while still being supplied with back and front plates for the button assembly, is operable to supply the button covers at a rate at which the unit lends itself to making buttons almost as fast as they could be assembled in this prior assembly device from a steadily available supply of back and front plates and an also steadily available supply of button covers. This prior button-forming unit is disclosed in the copending application of Jacob J. Alpert, Ser. No. 91,876, filed Nov. 23, 1970, with Jacob J. Alpert being the assignee of the present application. In this button-forming unit, the two forming dies are carried on a slide which is horizontally reciprocable on a base to bring either die from a loading station to an operating station at which it is in operative alignment with an overhead forming punch, with the latter being guided for vertical movement in an upright on the base, and being operated by a handlever. Mounted on the upright above the forming punch is the support for the punch of the cover-blanking punch and die set, and mounted on top of this support is the blanking die with its top-exposed die aperture. Manipulation of the handlever in one direction will lower the forming punch for cooperation with either aligned forming die in assembling a button, while manipulation of the handlever in the opposite direction will raise the blanking punch for cooperation with the blanking die in blanking a cover from a supply ribbon. The forming dies are starting and finish dies in assembling a button, of which the starting die at its loading station receives a front plate and a cover on top of the front plate, and the finish die at its loading station receives a back plate with its pin downward. In a typical cyclic operation of the unit, the handlever is manipulated in one direction to lower the forming punch into cooperation with the aligned loaded starting die to fold a peripheral margin of the cover downwardly over the periphery of the front plate, whereby the cover and front plate are also transferred to the punch by virtue of frictional engagement of the latter with the folded-down cover margin, so that the cover and front plate will be carried by this punch on its following up or return stroke when manipulating the handlever in the opposite direction. The side is then moved to bring the loaded finish die to the operating station and the starting die to its loading station for reception of another front plate. The handlever is then preferably manipulated in said opposite direction to raise the blanking punch into cooperation with the blanking die for blanking a cover and delivering it to the top of the blanking die from where it is readily removed and placed directly into the starting die on top of the already deposited cover plate therein. The forming punch is, by appropriate handlever manipulation, again lowered, in the course of which the retained front plate and folded-over cover are stripped from the punch and transferred into the finish die wherein the latter and the punch cooperate to crimp a peripheral margin of the front plate over a peripheral margin of the back plate and simultaneously interfold the down-folded cover margin between and into tight clamping engagement with the interlocked plate margins. The button is then finished and is, after the succeeding up-stroke of the forming punch, removed from the finish die, whereupon the slide is moved to bring the loaded starting die to the operating station and the empty finish die to its loading station for reception of another back plate. The unit is then ready for the next cyclic operation. Also, in the operation of this prior unit, the descent or downstroke of the forming punch into cooperation with the finish die is greater than its down-stroke into cooperation with the starting die, meaning that manipulation of the handlever for the down-stroke of this punch into cooperation with the finishdie is over a greater angular distance than it is for its downstroke into cooperation with the starting die.

This prior button-forming unit is entirely satisfactory in all respects, except that the blanking of a cover requires manipulation of the handlever which has no operating effect on the forming punch, wherefore in making a button the time required for blanking a cover is additional to the time required for assembling the button parts into a button by the fonning punch in cooperation with the forming dies.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a buttonforming unit of this type which is identical with the prior unit, except that the handlever will, on manipulation in one direction, simultaneously lower the forming punch into cooperation with the finish-forming die and raise the blanking punch into cooperation with the blanking die. With this arrangement, the time required for blanking a cover is no longer additive to, but falls within, the time required for assembling the button parts into a button by the forming punch in cooperation with the forming dies.

Further objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art from the following, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-section through a pin-on button;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a button-forming unit for making buttons of the kind shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of the same buttonforming unit; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side view, partly in section, similar to FIG. 3, but showing certain operating parts in a different operation position.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, the reference numeral designates a pin-on button which in this instance is round and consists of a back plate 22, a front plate 24 and a cover 26 over the front plate 24. The back and front plates 22 and 24 are dished and have rims 28 and 30, respectively, of which the rim 28 is flared outwardly, and the rim 30 is also flared outwardly, but is in the assembly of the button crimped inwardly into overlap and interlock with the rim 28 of the back plate 22. The cover 26 is blanked from paper or similar flat flexible material, and is provided on its front face 32 with a printed legend or a pictorial illustration such as a photograph, or both, depending on the purpose for which the button is worn.

In the assembly of the button, the cover 26 is with a peripheral margin 34 thereof folded and securely clamped between the interlocked rims 28 and 30 of the back and front plates 22 and 24. The back plate 22 is also provided with a pin-on needle 36 which extends from a loop 38 on one end of a needle back 40 the other end of which is formed into a needle catch 42, with the needle back 40 extending on the inside of the dished back plate 22, and the loop 38 and needle catch 42 extending through slots in the back plate.

Reference is now had to FIGS. 2 and 3 which show a device 50 for forming buttons of the kind shown in FIG. 1. The device 50 has for its major operating components a pair of buttonforming dies 52 and 54, a forming punch 56 which cooperates with the forming dies 52 and 54, and a cover-blanking punch 58 and cooperating die 60.

The forming dies 52 and 54 are carried by a slide 62 which is movable in a horizontal guideway 64 on a base 66. The die 52, which is a starting die in forming a button, has a center ram 68 fixed in the slide 62, and a surrounding sleeve 70 which by a spring 72 is normally urged into the raised position shown in FIG. 2, with the ram 68 and sleeve 72 forming a die recess or cavity 74 open at the top.

The other forming die 54, which is a finish" die in forming a button, has also a center ram 76 fixed in the slide 62 and a surrounding sleeve 78 which by a spring 80 is normally urged into the raised position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with the ram 76 and sleeve 78 forming a die recess 82 open at the top.

The forming punch 56 is on an upright 84 on the base 66 guided for vertical movement downwardly and upwardly into and from cooperation, respectively, with either forming die 52 and 54. More particularly, the forming punch 56 is carried at the lower end of a rack 85 which is movable in a vertical guideway 86 in a block 88 which at 90 is pinned to the upright 84, with this upright being in the present instance a cylindrical post, and the rack 85 being retained in the guideway 86 by a plate 92. The forming punch 56 is raised and lowered by manuably operable means including the rack 85, and carried by a shaft 96 suitably journalled in the block 88, and a handlever 98 on the shaft 96. The forming punch 56 provides in this instance a top plate 100, a therefrom depending center ram 102, and a sleeve 104 surrounding and tumable on the center ram 102, with the ram 102 and surrounding sleeve 104 forming a die recess or cavity 105.

The forming punch 56 is located at an operating station of the device, and the slide 62 is shiftable to bring either forming die 52 or 54 to this operating station for cooperation with the forming punch. Thus, the starting die 52 is at the operating station in FIG. 2, with the finish die 54 being then in its loading station. Conversely, on shifting the slide 62 to the left in FIG. 2 to bring the finish die 54 to the operating station, the starting die 52 will be brought to its loading station to the left of the operating station, as will be readily understood.

Suitably mounted at 124 on top of the upright post 84, and preferably also at 126 on another upright post 128 on the base 66, is a support 130 having a cylindrical recess 132 that serves as a vertical guideway for the blanking punch 58 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Mounted at 134 on top of the support 130 is the blanking die 60 having an annular die aperture 136 which is open at the top and bottom, and whose bottom edge 138 cooperates with the top edge 140 of the blanking punch 58 in blanking a cover 26 from a supply ribbon r on raising the blanking punch (FIG.

4). The blanking punch 58 has a bottom shank 142 which extends through a bottom aperture-144 in the support and into operative alignment with a rack 131 which is vertically guided in the block 88 and in mesh with the gear 94. The blanking punch 58 is normally seated in the annular recess 132 in the support 130 (FIG. 3) by springs 148 which surround screws 150 and are interposed between the heads 152 of the latter and the support 130, with the screws 150 passing through suitable clearance holes in the support 130 and being threadedly received by the blanking punch 58. Provided in the top of the support 130 is a groove 154 of uniform width substantially equal to that of a supply ribbon r, with this groove 154 being centered on the blanking punch 58and the aperture 136 in the blanking die 60 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The groove 154 and the blanking die 60 thereabove thus form a guideway 156 in which to advance a supply ribbon r to the blanking punch and die for blanking a cover 26 therefrom. To raise the blanking punch 58 for blanking a cover 26, the handlever 98 is turned anticlockwise into the position in FIG. 4 in the course of which the rack 13] raises the blanking punch 58 from the retracted position in FIG. 3 to the level shown in FIG. 4 at which the blanked cover 26 rests on the blanking punch above the die aperture 136 for easy removal. With the markings on successive lengths of a supply ribbon r being widthwise centered on the latter, it follows that on mere advance of a supply ribbon in the guideway 156, the latter keeps the markings on the supply ribbon centered on the blanking punch 58 and die aperture 136 widthwise of the ribbon, so that an attendant's sole task in centering successive markings in the die aperture 136 is to advance the ribbon until the next marking is through the top of the die aperture observed to be so centered.

For use of the device, there is available a supply of back and front plates 22 and 24, and in the preferred operation of the device each cover 26 is blanked in the device as needed for its immediate assembly with a back plate and a front plate into a button. In operation of the device, and assuming that the starting die 52 has just been brought to the operating station (FIG. 2) from its loading station in which it received a front plate 24 and a cover 26 thereover, the forming punch 56 is, by downward manipulation of the handlever 98 from the position in FIG. 3, lowered to cooperate with the starting die 52 in preassembling the front plate and cover therein and transfer these preassembled parts into the. die aperture 105 in the forming punch. The front plate 24 and cover 26 are thus preassembled in the starting die 52 and transferred to the forming punch 56 on downward manipulation of the handlever 98 to a position short of that shown in FIG. 4, so that the blanking punch 58 is not raised sufficiently to blank a cover 26 from the supply ribbon r The handlever 98 is then manipulated upwards into the home position in FIG. 3 for the up or return stroke of the forming punch 56 to its raised position. With the finish die 54 being then in its loading position (FIG. 2), the operator may next place a back plate 22 into the die recess or cavity 82 in this finish die, and the operator may then shift the slide 62 to bring the loaded finish die 54 to the operating station and the now-empty starting die 52 to its loading station at which to place a new front plate 24 into its die cavity 74. Next, the handlever 98 may be swung downwardly from the home position in FIG. 3 to that shown in FIG. 4, which is through a larger angular extent than the downward swing of the handlever 98 for lowering the forming punch 56 into cooperation with the starting die 52. In the course of such downward manipulation of the handlever 98 into the position in FIG. 4, the forming punch 56 is lowered into cooperation with the finish die 54 for transferring the preassembled front plate and cover from the forming punch into the finish die and for assembling the preassembled front plate and cover with the back plate in the finish die, and the blanking punch 58 is simultaneously raised to blank a cover 26 from the supply ribbon r and deposit the cover on top of the blanking die 60 for ready removal therefrom and direct deposit into the starting die 52 on top of an already deposited front plate therein. The handlever 98 may then be manipulated upwardly into the home position in FIG. 3 for return of the forming punch 56 to its raised position and simultaneous return of the blanking punch 58 to its retracted or inoperative position (FIG. 3), with the sleeve 78 of the finish die 54 being, on the return or upstroke of the forming punch, urged by the spring 80 into the normal raised position (FIG. 3) in which the finished button rests on top of this sleeve 78 for ready removal therefrom. The operator next shifts the slide 62 to bring the loaded starting die 52 to the operating station (FIG. 2) and start the next operating cycle after first placing a back plate into the finish die 54 at its loading station. Of course, the next operating cycle of the device includes timely and quick advance of the supply ribbon r in the guideway 156 for centering the marking on the next ribbon length in the die aperture 136 for blanking the next cover 26 therefrom in the same operating cycle.

Further details of the forming punch 56 and the forming dies 52 and 54, and their exact cooperation in assembling a button from the button parts 22, 24 and 26, are fully disclosed and described in said copending application Ser. No. 91,876, of Jacob J. Alpert, filed Nov. 23, 1970, and, hence, require no further disclosure herein.

1 claim:

1. A device for forming buttons each having front and back plate parts and a marked cover part over the front plate part, comprising a base with a horizontal guideway; a pair of starting and finish button-forming dies with recesses open at the top; a slide carrying said dies and being movable in said guideway into two positions in each of which one die is at an operating station and the other die is at a loading station; a forming punch; an upright on said base having first and second spaced vertical guideways; a first rack guided in said first vertical guideway, with said rack having a lower end on which said forming punch is carried, and being movable downwardly from and upwardly into a home position for bringing said forming punch into and from cooperation, respectively, with a button-forming die at said operating station, said starting and finish dies in their respective loading positions being adapted to receive in their recesses a front plate part and cover part thereon and a back plate part, respectively, and said starting and finish dies in successive cooperation with said punch assembling the parts received in said dies into a button; a support on said upright providing a third vertical guideway above said first and second guideways; a blanking punch and die, of which said blanking punch is movable in said third guideway and said blanking die is mounted on top of said support and has a die aperture open at the top and bottom and having a bottom edge cooperating with the rising blanking punch in blanking a cover part from a supply sheet; a second rack movable in said second guideway and having a top end in operative alignment with said blanking punch; a gear rotatably supported in said upright between said first and second guideways and in mesh with said racks; and manual means for turning said gear in opposite directions, with turning of said gear in one direction causing said first and second racks simultaneously to lower said forming punch into cooperation with said finish die at said operating station and raise said blanking punch into cooperation with said blanking die.

2. A device for forming buttons as in claim 1, in which the downstroke of said first rack for cooperation of said forming punch with said finish die is greater than the downstroke of said first rack for cooperation of said forming punch with said starting die, and the upstroke of said second rack for coopera tion of said blanking punch with said blanking die is greater than the downstroke of said first rack for cooperation of said forming punch with said starting die so that no cover part is blanked on cooperation of said forming punch with said starting die. 

1. A device for forming buttons each having front and back plate parts and a marked cover part over the front plate part, comprising a base with a horizontal guideway; a pair of starting and finish button-forming dies with recesses open at the top; a slide carrying said dies and being movable in said guideway into two positions in each of which one die is at an operating station and the other die is at a loading station; a forming punch; an upright on said base having first and second spaced vertical guideways; a first rack guided in said first vertical guideway, with said rack having a lower end on which said forming punch is carried, and being movable downwardly from and upwardly into a home position for bringing said forming punch into and from cooperation, respectively, with a button-forming die at said operating station, said starting and finish dies in their respective loading positions being adapted to receive in their recesses a front plate part and cover part thereon and a back plate part, respectively, and said starting and finish dies in successive cooperation with said punch assembling the parts received in said dies into a button; a support on said upright providing a third vertical guideway above said first and second guideways; a blanking punch and die, of which said blanking punch is movable in said third guideway and said blanking die is mounted on top of said support and has a die aperture open at the top and bottom and having a bottom edge cooperating with the rising blanking punch in blanking a cover part from a supply sheet; a second rack movable in said second guideway and having a top end in operative alignment with said blanking punch; a gear rotatably supported in said upright between said first and second guideways and in mesh with said racks; and manual means for turning said gear in opposite directions, with turning of said gear in one direction causing said first and second racks simultaneously to lower said forming punch into cooperation with said finish die at said operating station and raise said blanking punch into cooperation with said blanking die.
 2. A device for forming buttons as in claim 1, in which the downstroke of said first rack for cooperation of said forming punch with said finish die is greater than the downstroke of said first rack for cooperation of said forming punch with said starting die, and the upstroke of said second rack for cooperation of said blanking punch with said blanking die is greater than the downstroke of said first rack for cooperation of said forming punch with said starting die so that no cover part is blanked on cooperation of said forming punch with said starting die. 